In many sporting events, there are moments that make you hold your breath: a high, arcing shot at the buzzer, a deep fly ball that sends an outfielder toward the wall, a fade pass to the back of the end zone. These moments aren't the only reason we watch sports, but the chance that they'll happen is often reason enough to stay glued to your television.

Now imagine a sport in which that hold-your-breath moment can happen multiple times a minute. But instead of the outcome of a game being in flux, it's the appearance of life and death being in flux — as if a trapeze artist wavered on a high wire, but for an entire hour. This, in many ways, is figure-8 racing.

On Saturday nights between April and October, late model racers flock to the east side's Indianapolis Speedrome and, at least seemingly, put their lives on the line. When watching cars speed toward each other at upwards of 70 mph in the intersecting (yes, intersecting) straights of a track shaped like an eight, it's hard not to hold your breath.

But like skilled trapeze artists, even if things seem dire at the crossover area in the middle of the track, figure-8 drivers have things much more under control than what meets the eye. Track President Jonathan Byrd calls it "a beautiful chaos."

A member of the track's safety crew concentrates on the action on the track. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

B.J. Hizer prepares to race in the Thundercar division of racing on the oval track. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Ben Tunny parades the American Flag around the track during the playing of the National Anthem. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Families arrive at the track ready to cheer on their favorite drivers. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Nathan Cochran, 9, Indianapolis, takes a competitor's trike to the holding area before young racers take to the track. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Carter Harding crosses the finish line to win the tricycle races for his age group. He was celebrating his third birthday today as well. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Fans cheer as their driver advances through the pack on the track. Those standing, from left, are Timothy Myrtle, 6; Robert Olvey, Racheal Olvey, 5; and Rozella Clark. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

A variety of trophies are lined up and ready to be presented to the various race winners throughout the evening. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Stevie Frost, 12, Indianapolis, crosses the finish line to win his heat in the Junior Faskarts race. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Ben Tunny parades the American Flag around the track during the playing of the National Anthem. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

A young racer flies around the track on his tricycle. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Cars head through the first turn in the Thundercar Spring Series Championship. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Cars line up in preparation for the Thundercar Spring Series Championship race. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Mary Johnson, 5, is interviewed by track announcer Scott Keen after winning the race for her age group. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Mary Johnson, 5, crosses the finish line to win the tricycle races for her age group. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

The car of Scott Stewart Jr. is taken from the track by a forklift after a collision in the Factory Front Wheel Drive Spring Series Championship race. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Roger Gwinn (29) intentionally crashes his car into the disabled car of Francisco Santiago Jr. (50) after the two encountered one another on the track while racing in the Factory Front Wheel Drive Spring Series Championship event. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Cars racing in the Factory Front Wheel Drive Spring Series Championship race collide in the third turn. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Damon Sizemore and his stepson, Brantlee Sizemore, 2 1/2, ride on the front of a car get the fans in the crowd fired up as teams take their cars to the track for the feature race of the evening. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Crews take their cars through an inspection process before heading to the track. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Drivers take the checkered flag after racing in the Factory Front Wheel Drive Spring Series Championship. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Bob Johnson sits on the window of his car as he awaits the rest of the driver's introductions before the race. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Drivers are introduced to the crowd before heading to their cars to race. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Mark Tunny takes a parade lap with the checkered flag after winning the featured race. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

Car parts fly after two racers make contact at the crossover in the middle of the track. Racing for the Late Model 17th-Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure 8 event at the Speedrome in Indianapolis, on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar

"The best of the best drivers make it look effortless when they're in the cockpit," Byrd said. "It's part science and part art what these guys have to do to navigate the crossover and also navigate traffic."

Drivers maintain that there's a method to this madness. Just as you would decide whether to put the gas pedal down or hold back when approaching a yellow light, a similar calculus exists at the crossover. Drivers must decide in a split second whether they're going to floor it ahead of oncoming traffic, or yield ... twice every lap. Laps usually take 17-20 seconds to complete, and in Saturday's race, there were 150.

Amazingly, direct collisions at the crossover are extremely rare, and serious ones more so. Still, the near-misses are enough to make even the most experienced driver's heart race.

"There's a little bit of (fear) and anxiety there, but if there wasn't, it wouldn't be fun because it wouldn't give you any kind of rush," driver Ben Tunny said. "A lot of times you're counting on the other guys to miss you as much as you missing them. So you start to rely on a little faith. I've got faith I'll make it through, and because I've made it through thousands of other times, I think I'll make it again."

In figure-8 racing circles, the Tunny family is practically royalty. Ben's brothers Austin and Jesse also race, as did their late father, Bill Jr. Bruce, Bill Jr.'s brother, and his son Mark race, too, though Bruce retired a few years ago after "winning about everything there is to win."

Buy Photo

Cars line up Saturday in preparation for the Thundercar Spring Series Championship race on Saturday at Indianapolis Speedrome.(Photo11: Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar)

Bruce's son and nephews have carried the family torch and then some; Mark, who said he first visited the Speedrome when he was five days old, won Saturday's Jake Cohen Memorial Race by a very wide margin, and Ben finished third. The Tunnys take great pride in their success, and the unique skills required to be successful on a figure 8 track.

"I'd like to bring one of those hot oval racers in here — Tony Stewart or somebody, and give them a whirl at it," Bruce Tunny said. "He'd be flustered — he'd be going, 'This is stupid.'"

That's not to mention Mark's mother, Cristi McGill, whose sister and brother-in-law bought the track when McGill was a senior in high school (which is how she met Bruce, her first husband). Ownership has changed hands a few times since then and the cars now have transponders, but she still scores races by hand, "the old fashioned way." At one point, she said, she regularly watched six family members race at once.

"To be honest, when I'm scoring, I don't think about them when they're out there — they're just a number," McGill said. "The worst is when I'm someplace else and I'm actually a spectator, because then I'm thinking about it."

While serious collisions are rare, the worst one McGill has ever seen, she said, was actually between Mark Tunny, her son, and Ben Tunny, her nephew, in Jeffersonville, Ind., two years ago. Both cousins, who she said are best friends, ended up in the hospital, with Ben breaking his arm and dislocating his elbow. Mark said that bumps and bruises come with the territory, even if they're not usually that severe.

"There's been some where you just get hit and sit there for a minute, and just lay your head over and try to get the headache to go away," he said. "Or your ribs or shoulders or legs take a beating. But I can't see myself stopping. These cars are safe, they really are, all things considered. We can take a pretty good hit and be OK. But we try not to do that."

Mark Tunny is a fan favorite at the Speedrome. McGill has personalized pins on hand depicting his car, and supporters in the stands wear T-shirts bearing his nickname, "The Marksman." It's easy to forget that Monday through Friday, he works in telecommunications construction.

In fact, pretty much all involved moonlight as full-time workers away from the racetrack. Bruce Tunny is an operations manager for a metal roofing company. McGill is retired, but used to work for AT&T and score other kinds of races on the side. Ben Tunny recently opened Elite New and Used Tires in Wanamaker. But on Saturdays in the summer, work, weddings and other responsibilities all take a backseat, so to speak. Figure 8 is the priority.

"Before (my current job) I hopped job to job because racing caused me trouble at work, so I had to start my own job so I couldn't get fired," Ben Tunny said with a laugh. "I was asking off work and staying out all night working on the car and not wanting to come in on time."

At the end of the day, it's a hobby, albeit an expensive, time-consuming one. Cars can cost up to $60,000 and constant upkeep is a must. There are also fees for pit licenses just outside the track. Though the more successful drivers like Mark and Ben Tunny have sponsorships, McGill estimated that the prize money for any given race hardly exceeds a few thousand dollars.

But it's not about the money. You don't speed into the crossover hundreds of times once a week in a few tons of metal for the money. It's about family tradition, pride and an adrenaline rush that's hard to replicate anywhere else.

"It is a hobby, but it is a lifestyle," Bruce Tunny said. "We kind of breathe this stuff, you know?"